The final version of a long-awaited study on Baton Rouge city-parish employee pay and benefits comes to the same general conclusion that city leaders discussed weeks ago: Employees are underpaid compared with the market rates for their positions, and the city-parish should consider scaling back some benefits so it can put more money toward salaries.

The report on city-parish employee compensation was presented to the Metro Council on Wednesday, and is the new, final version of a draft that had circulated earlier. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has been critical of the study, and has been trying to stave off attempts to cut benefits while urging Mayor-President Kip Holden to give raises starting next year.

Finding the money to give at least some city-parish employees raises
will likely be a key issue as Holden and the council discuss next year’s
budget in coming weeks.

Council members did not comment on the report Wednesday, but invited the consultants who wrote it to come back during the budget discussions to field any questions. The report cost the city more than $150,000. Scroll down for a copy of the full report.

The city-parish’s benefits are “generous,” consultant Christel Slaughter told council members. But base pay salaries lag the market average. It would cost the city-parish $9.2 million to raise all salaries up to market rates, according to the report. The report does not address public safety positions in the fire and police departments.

The low pay means the city has a hard time hiring for specific positions, particularly because Baton Rouge’s economy has fared well and job seekers have options.

“The city-parish is behind the market, and because the city-parish is operating within a market and economy that’s thriving, the situation is worse for certain positions such as skilled trades,” Slaughter said.

Baton Rouge does give its employees annual raises of 3 percent, until they reach the top step of their pay scale. Once they’ve reached 10 years of service, they also get longevity pay raises.

The consultants' recommendations are similar to those in the draft report: For example, the consultants recommend eliminating longevity pay for future employees, and putting that money toward base salaries instead. The city budgeted $7.18 million for longevity pay this year.

The city should also examine its $5.54 million in overtime expenses, and make overtime policies stricter so it can use that money for salaries, the report recommends.

The report also notes that city-parish employees with 15 years of service get 24 days of sick leave each year. Combined with 24 days of paid vacation time, that means city-parish employees can take two months off each year. The report recommends a cap on sick leave, to limit how much can be accrued. The leave rolls over from year to year and can be applied to their retirement, so some employees are able retire a full year early.

Representatives of SEIU, which represents department of public works employees and others, took issue with the idea that the city-parish’s benefits are generous. Helene O’Brien, president of the local SEIU chapter, notes that Baton Rouge employees contribute 9.5 percent of their salaries to their pensions – higher than all but one of the “peer cities” it’s compared with. In addition, employees aren’t fully vested in their pensions until they’ve worked for the city for 10 years.

Money can be saved through other means, like eliminating executive leave and exploring different health care options like adding a Medicare Advantage plan, O'Brien said.

“Most of all, improved pay has to start now,” O’Brien said. “We know it can’t happen overnight, but there’s got to be some action taken immediately.”

In other business, the council:

-- Deferred to Dec. 11 an ongoing discussion over which companies should be allowed to provide bus benches in the parish. One company, National Concrete Industries, has provided benches in the parish for more than 30 years exclusively. But the council decided at recent meetings to allow two other companies to provide benches.

Now, National Concrete’s contract is up for renewal and some council members are worried they’ve created a “mess” by giving the other companies vague contracts. For example, one council member noted that the benches could have advertisements for cigarettes, alcohol or casinos.